University, vocational training debts to skyrocket, costing budget billions, documents show

The Federal Government is preparing to write off billions of dollars of higher education loans as the number of bad debts soar. An ABC Freedom of Information (FOI) investigation has revealed the government is forecasting losses of more than $13.5 billion on just four years' worth of loans. The HELP loan system, including for university courses and vocational training, allows students to defer course payments and subsidises the interest rate on debt. The amount never to be repaid on loans issued in 2018-19 is predicted to exceed $4.4 billion - a budget hit nearly four times higher than expected from loans issued last financial year.